Brian Kneafsey

I’m fascinated with how complex the Bay Area rental market is right now. This impressive market trend report comes from our infamous econ team at Apartment List. Shoutout to Rob Warnock on putting these together. On the surface, the headline is simple: Bay Area median rent is $2,950, up +4.4% YoY. But two steps deeper, it’s clear this isn’t “one market” — it’s a patchwork of micro-markets behaving totally differently. A few stats I find fascinating: 👉 San Francisco: $3,621 median rent (+12.5% YoY) with just 3.6% vacancy and only 6% offering concessions.  👉 Oakland: $2,523 median rent (+2.7% YoY), but 7.2% vacancy and a massive 49% concession rate.  👉 Across the OAK metro, 25% of properties are still offering 1+ month free — even with rents rising.  👉 And 35% of searches into the SF metro are coming from outside the metro (top inbound: San Jose, LA, Sacramento) My takeaway: we’re seeing pricing power return, but it’s uneven — and incentives are still doing a lot of work behind the scenes. That mix makes strategy (and execution) matter more than ever for our PMC partners. What stands out to you?

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Over the past decade, we’ve run one of the leading talent marketplaces, helping the world’s top companies access independent talent to power their most critical work. Along the way, we’ve learned what modern staffing firms need to succeed: speed, automation, digital candidate experiences, and fewer manual, repetitive tasks.  We’ve been quietly building our own proprietary technology to solve these workflow challenges and improve our own productivity as a company. Today, we’re bringing that technology to the broader industry with the launch of GraphiteOS, an AI-powered recruiting operating system that we believe will fundamentally transform how staffing firms operate in the years to come. This isn’t just a product. It’s the technology infrastructure staffing firms need to operate faster and more effectively in an AI-driven, “agent-first” world.  We believe this technology will enable levels of recruiter productivity and client satisfaction that have never been seen before. Recruiters shouldn’t be stuck juggling disconnected tools and performing repetitive tasks. With GraphiteOS, we’ve built an all-in-one platform that connects the dots - sourcing, matching, screening, onboarding and billing - so teams can focus on what matters most: the high-value work that drives placements. I’m incredibly proud of what our team has built and, more importantly, what it will enable for our early customers where the platform is being deployed as we speak! Learn more at www.graphiteos.ai #GraphiteOS #StaffingTech #FutureOfWork #AIRecruiting #StaffingInnovation

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Instead of just asking where a deal is stuck and how to fix it, imagine instantly identifying the key decision-maker within Salesforce (using the CTD integration of course). That's the power of targeted introductions. By leveraging connections and pinpointing the right contact, stalled opportunities can regain momentum and close faster. It's about working smarter, not harder, to unlock potential. #Salesforce #SalesStrategy #RelationshipAI #BusinessDevelopment #GTN

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Q4 renewals hit differently in 2024. Get ready for 2025 📉 While founders focused on closing deals and hitting ARR targets, vendor contracts quietly shaved 200-300 basis points off EBITDA margins. The culprit? Scattered renewals handled ad hoc by whoever gets the email. That Salesforce renewal that auto-bumped 8%? The security tool that doubled pricing for AI features? Each decision compounds. Here’s the math: a 3-point EBITDA drop on $5M ARR costs $150K annually. At $10M ARR, that’s $300K. What the companies scaling efficiently to $15M+ ARR know: vendor management isn’t just cost-cutting - it’s margin discipline that scales with your business. The solution: treat renewals like a revenue process with the SAVE Framework ✅ S - Schedule (90-day renewal calendar) ✅ A - Alternatives (competitive landscape analysis) ✅ V - Value (usage audits before every renewal) ✅ E - Execute (standardized negotiation plays) Real example: turned a $75K Chargebee renewal into $50K (33% savings) through systematic usage auditing, competitive analysis, and smart negotiations. The result: direct Rule of 40 improvement and capital freed up for growth investments. Every dollar saved on vendor costs funds customer acquisition, product development, or runway extension. In today’s environment, margin discipline isn’t optional - it’s a competitive advantage. Swipe to see the complete framework 👉

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🌟 The SaaS world moves fast, and scaling efficiently requires strategic alignment, operational rigor, and cross-functional coordination. Fractional COOs are helping early- and mid-stage SaaS companies grow seamlessly while maintaining agility. At 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, we’re committed to 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆—spotlighting leaders who combine operational expertise with strategic insight to drive measurable results. 👋 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 Dawn Strobel, 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗢𝗢 Dawn helps SaaS companies align strategic objectives with day-to-day execution, ensuring scalable growth without sacrificing agility. She specializes in operational strategy, cross-functional alignment, process optimization, and efficiency audits. Here’s what she’s known for: ✅ Operational strategy for scaling 🏷️ Cross-functional alignment 🌟 SaaS process optimization 🔎 Operational efficiency audits Dawn empowers SaaS teams to scale smarter, improve performance, and operate with clarity—turning strategy into action at every level. 🔗 Learn more about Dawn Strobel and other Fractional COO professionals for SaaS companies here: https://lnkd.in/dSzCuv-R

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New pod alert - Marcos Rivera is the founder and CEO of Pricing I/O, where he helps B2B SaaS companies capture the value they’ve built. Former Head of Pricing at Vista Equity Partners, he’s priced over 400 SaaS products and has authored Street Pricing. In this conversation, Marcos and I discuss: -Why do so many SaaS companies treat pricing as a “once every couple of years” event when their product is changing monthly? -How should SaaS companies think about pricing new AI features they’re building? -If a founder is listening right now and can only do one thing differently with their pricing this quarter, what should it be? (Link in comments) Enjoy! Flexprice

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Excited to host Steve Isom. When he shares what PE firms actually expect from CFOs, he's not guessing. Steve's seen it from every seat at the table. 2009 → Banker, TD Securities & Jefferies 2013 → PE Investor, @North Bridge Growth Equity 2016 → Finance Leader, Cybereason, Flywheel, WP Engine 2021 → CFO, Bloomerang (Warburg Pincus LLC & JMI Equity) 2026 → COO & CFO, Bloomerang On March 5th, he's joining me to break down his playbook and perspective on working at PE-backed businesses. 📍 Inside the PE Boardroom: How CFOs Win (or Lose) 🗓️ March 5 | 12:00 pm ET / 9:00 am PT Link in the comments 👇

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A lot of banks do nCino right at first. Then lending volume grows. Teams evolve. Policies change. But the configuration stays mostly the same. That’s when you start seeing • Credit memos taking longer • More manual handoffs • “Temporary” workarounds becoming permanent It’s rarely a platform issue. It’s usually a sign the system hasn’t been re-aligned to how the business operates today. This is exactly why we’re offering a focused 1-hour strategy session with our nCino experts, just to pressure-test where friction exists and what to do about it. Link in the comments if it’s helpful. #nCino #CommercialLending #DigitalBanking #BankingTransformation

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